"Its primary signification seems to be that of
an adjective."--Again he observes, "_Myself, himself, themselves_, and the
rest, may, contrary to the analogy of _my, him, them_, be used as
nominatives." _Hisself, itsself_, and _theirselves_, would be more
analogical than _himself, itself, themselves_; but custom has rejected the
former, and established the latter. When an adjective qualifies the term
_self_, the pronouns are written separately in the possessive case; as, _My
single self,--My own self,--His own self,--Their own selves_. So,
anciently, without an adjective: as, "A man shall have diffused his life,
_his self_, and his whole concernments so far, that he can weep his sorrows
with an other's eyes."--_South_. "Something valuable for _its self_ without
view to anything farther."--_Harris's Hermes_, p. 293. "That they would
willingly, and of _their selves_ endeavour to keep a perpetual
chastity."--_Stat. Ed. VI. in Lowth's Gram._, p. 26. "Why I should either
_imploy my self_ in that study or put others upon it."--_Walker's English
Particles_, p. xiv. "It is no matter whether you do it by your proctor, or
by _your self_."--_Ib._, p. 96. The compound _oneself_ is sometimes written
in stead of the phrase _one's self_; but the latter is preferable, and more
common. Even _his self_, when written as two words, may possibly be right
in some instances; as,

"Scorn'd be the wretch that quits his genial bowl,
His loves, his friendships, ev'n _his self_, resigns;
Perverts the sacred instinct of his soul,
And to a ducat's dirty sphere confines."
--SHENSTONE: _Brit. Poets_, Vol. vii, p. 107.

OBS. 30.--In poetry, and even in some compositions not woven into regular
numbers, the simple personal pronouns are not unfrequently used, for
brevity's sake, in a reciprocal sense; that is, in stead of the compound
personal pronouns, which are the proper reciprocals: as, "Wash _you_, make
_you_ clean."--_Isaiah_, i, 16. "I made me great works; I builded _me_
houses; I planted _me_ vineyards; I made _me_ gardens and
orchards."--_Ecclesiastes_, ii, 4. "Thou shalt surely clothe _thee_ with
them all as with an ornament, and bind them on _thee_ as a bride
doeth."--_Isaiah_, xlix, 18. Compare with these the more regular
expression: "As a bridegroom decketh _himself_ with ornaments, and as a
bride adorneth _herself_ with jewels."--_Isaiah_, lxi, 10. This phraseology
is almost always preferable in prose; the other is